Christmas Is All About You!

Written By Carol McLeod

You may have heard the Christmas story a thousand times, but do you believe it?  

 

Do you believe the Christmas story in the deepest part of who you are? 

 

Have you embraced this historic account of an astounding miracle as reality and truth?  

 

Or have you filed it away under “Christmas fantasy” along with magical bags of toys and elves?  

 

Is your belief in Christmas extracted from snowmen who dance, reindeer who sing and the false promise that all your Christmases will be white? 

 

The true Christmas story, the one that I have chosen to weave as truth into the fabric of my life, is the story of a girl who was ordinary, young, and unqualified.  

 

God chose to place Himself inside her womb so you and I could, one day, carry His presence inside our lives as well.  

 

The Lord, the Father, the Creator of the Universe, the Instigator of everything glorious and miraculous, chose you and I as the vehicle through which our generation would receive its greatest gift.  

 

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” - Charles Dickens 

 

It is our miracle that we have been called to demonstrate Jesus to the world in which we live.  

 

The world will only experience the joy of His birth to the extent that I set aside my grief and pain choosing to embrace and exhibit His joy.  

 

The world will only taste the peace of His coming to the extent that my life reveals the authority of His peace.  

 

The world will only know the hope of Christmas when I respond to discouragement and disappointment not as a doubter as an expectant believer.  

 

The world will only see the Light of the world when I allow my life to become a shining beacon to humanity.  

 

The world will only hear the song of Christmas when I sing it to the frozen, dark world of my culture.  

“Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world." –  President Calvin Coolidge, 1927 

 

Christmas is not just about Mary ... or Joseph ... or Elizabeth and Zacharias ... or the shepherds and the Magi.  

 

Christmas is all about you!  

 

It is about you, making yourself available at this time in history to reveal the presence and love of our Savior.  

 

You are the joyful gift that today God is choosing to give to your world.  

 

Your generation is desperate to know the glory of a Savior.  

 

Without you, they may never know His name or the purpose of His coming.  

 

As you now contemplate New Year’s resolutions and plans that will encompass the 365 days to come, will you recommit yourself to be used by God?  

 

Will you decide this Christmas to allow the Lord to use your life as the manger upon which the Savior of the world may be found?  

 

Will you allow the Father to use your life as the womb into which Jesus is delivered to the world?  

 

God has planted a seed of Himself in you.  

 

Will you respond like Mary with the submissive yet expectant words, “Behold the bondslave of the Lord, be it unto me according to Your Word,” ?  

 

Let there be joy!  

 

Jesus has been born in you.  

 

The Lord is looking for believers who will be bold enough - and joyful enough - to embrace the miracle of Christmas not just one day a year but every day of every season.  

 

Thanks for listening to my heart this week.  As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me.  And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!  

Carol McLeod
Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!
Previous

My Top 10 Books of 2023
Next

When Christmas Looks Different